The extended presence of the singing sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle on the Indian film music circuit ended up shortening the singing careers of many fabulous female voices. Some of these women retreated into nondescript and often difficult lives. Yet, the contribution of playback singers such as Shamshad Begum, Sudha Malhotra, Kamal Barot, Usha Mangeshkar, Ruma Guha Thakurta and Mubarak Begum to the rich repertoire of Hindi film music from the 1940s is unforgetta ble.
A person who can sweep the audience away by the sheer variety of her accomplishments is Ruma Guha Thakurta nee Ghosh. Born in 1934, she is an actress, singer, dancer and choreographer all rolled into one astonishing personality. In 1951, Ruma married the legendary Kishore Kumar and the following year Amit Kumar came along. After her divorce in 1958, she settled down in Kolkata, where she formed the Calcutta Youth Choir (CYC) along with composer Salil Chowdhury and filmmaker Satyajit Ray. She must be doing something right because in May this year, CYC — considered a trendsetter in choir culture and the recipient of many international prizes including a first prize at the Copenhagen Youth Festival, Denmark — celebrated its golden anniversary. Ruma has worked with Mother Teresa; sung songs with Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar; acted in over 100 Hindi and Bengali films; and played the lead role in Ganashatru that won an Oscar nomination in 1989. After acting in Mira Nair’s The Namesake in 2006, Ruma’s gusto for life at 74 is as much in evidence today as ever.
Take a look at her accomplishments on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkLGfr4o4DY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPEMo4_ATV0
PUBLISHED ON:Friday, Aug 22, 2008 in BUSINESS LINE at Life[Music & Dance] section
No comments:
Post a Comment